


Rarely Pure, Never Simple

by AlmostSilent



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Feral Derek, Feral Derek Hale, Good Peter Hale, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Peter is smitten, Pre-Slash, Stiles Stilinski Has Low Self-Esteem, but mostly - Freeform, canon divergent after season 2, kind of manipulative Peter, this fic doesn't paint Derek in the best light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 16:29:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12845061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmostSilent/pseuds/AlmostSilent
Summary: There's something wrong with Derek and Stiles doesn't know what to do, so of course he calls Peter for help. But it looks like Peter might know more about what's wrong with Derek than he's let on, and it might be time for things to change in Beacon Hills.Stiles just has to figure out if he wants things to change, and if he can trust Peter after all.





	Rarely Pure, Never Simple

**Author's Note:**

> I just want to point out that I started this in August 2014, finished it in October 2015 (and then for some reason never posted it?). It's set in a future where everything up to the end of season 2 happened and everyone is alive, but I'm not super specific about the timeline, though I imagine them sort in the beginning of senior year? Also, it's not super relevant to the plot but obviously some things from Season 3 still happened (I mention Cora) but some things did not (Scott is not an Alpha etc). 
> 
> I _originally_ started writing this fic because I'd read a bunch of Sterek fics that featured Derek making decisions for Stiles and generally treating him like a child or whatever and I just wanted to vent about that and then it sort of just...turned into this? Sorrynotsorry.

Stiles was rapidly losing the small buzz the alcohol had given him, he was also rapidly losing the good mood he’d been in just minutes before. The reason for his growing agitation was currently dragging him into the club’s parking lot by his arm. Derek’s grip was actually tight enough to hurt and Stiles was sure, given how easily he tended to bruise, that he’d have marks there tomorrow.

“Derek, stop!” he tried yanking his arm away, but Derek only tightened his grip and pulled Stiles harder. “Stop! You’re hurting me!”

Derek didn’t stop, in fact he didn’t stop until he’d dragged Stiles all the way to where the Camaro was parked. And even then when he let go it was only to unlock the car and open the passenger door, before glaring at Stiles.

“Get in.”

“Okay, no. How about you explain to me what the hell that was?” Stiles asks, anger and frustration seeping obviously into his voice.

“Get in the car Stiles,” is all Derek says, arms crossed over his chest and still glaring at Stiles menacingly. Luckily Stiles is now immune to Derek’s glares due to his sheer level of exposure over the past year and a half.

“You just yanked me out of a club where I was having a good time, with no explanation but way more force than was necessary, and now you want me to get in a car with you? I don’t think so Derek.”

Somehow Derek’s face was glaring harder, scowling more and really Stiles thinks he might hurt himself at this rate. A year ago this very situation would have had him downright terrified; a tall, dark and dangerous man looming over him in an empty corner of a dark parking lot? That’s the stuff of nightmares. Even now he can’t help but feel some background fear, but that’s mostly because he doesn’t know _why_ Derek is acting this way.

“Get in the fucking car Stiles,” and there’s definitely a growl in his voice now. Shit, how close to actually wolfing out is he? Is he losing control, is that what all of this has been about? Surely if Derek was losing control it would make more sense to go to one of the ‘wolves who could actually handle him if he lost it, rather than Stiles the squishy and very breakable human.

“Derek I think maybe we should call Scott, or maybe Peter,” Stiles tries to persuade but Derek’s growling becomes a constant background noise to his words. “Something is clearly wrong here.”

“Yes Stiles, something _is_ wrong,” Derek growls harshly, “all those guys in there were all over you, getting their scent on you, when you know you’re mine!”

Derek’s last word is punctuated by his fist slamming into the car. Stiles can’t help the way he jumps back at the violent movement and the loud noise it makes so close to him. 

“What are you talking about Derek?” Stiles’ voice is a little breathless and rather shaky, he can’t help how scared he is now, something is very wrong here. “I don’t belong to you. We aren’t… I mean, we aren’t like that.”

These seem to be the wrong words to say because Derek’s growling gets louder and more menacing, the glare on his face becomes even more terrifying and Stiles is becoming increasingly aware that Derek might actually seriously hurt him. Sure in the past Derek has pushed him around, shoving him against walls, his head against the steering wheel and that one painful punch to his hand just to illustrate a point. But none of those left Stiles with any lasting damage, just a couple of bruises and muscle aches, nothing worse than a grueling lacrosse practice has left him with. Now Stiles thinks Derek might actually follow through on some of the more violent threats he’s made over their acquaintance, threats that have more to do with Derek’s teeth and claws rending and tearing Stiles’ delicate flesh.

“You. Are. Mine.” 

The words are accompanied by Derek’s hands grabbing onto Stiles biceps and shaking him harshly. It’s enough to make Stiles’ teeth rattle in his head. Derek’s fingers are digging into his arms and then, yep, those are claws scratching and piercing into his skin.

Stiles has never been this scared of Derek, not even when they thought Derek was the Alpha who was going around killing people. Stiles has to do something, he can’t just let Derek maim him. Unfortunately, the only thing he has on him is the pouch of mountain ash powder that he’s taken to keeping on him at all times. Stiles has figured out a lot of ways to defend himself against the supernatural creatures in his life, despite being more or less human, but on a night out like tonight when there’s no actual danger in Beacon Hills to be worried about, all Stiles has on him is the mountain ash and his amulet, and the amulet doesn’t work against the pack because it draws on the pack’s bonds to power it. 

“I’m sorry Derek, but I’ll figure out whatever’s wrong with you and fix it,” Stiles whispers before pulling the pouch out of his pocket and willing the powder to circle Derek. The circle of powder manages to force Derek back about two feet from Stiles. Deaton gave Stiles some tips and tricks about how to get the mountain ash to obey his will, even to the point of defying physics, it was this that first gave the vet the idea that Stiles might have some latent magic in his blood, which turned out to be true.

With Derek now raging against the line of mountain ash and shouting at Stiles to let him out, Stiles quickly focused on turning the barrier soundproof, it’s one of the newer tricks he’s managed to do with mountain ash and he’s quite proud of it. Then he quickly pulls out his phone and sends off a text to the whole pack before calling Peter.

Since coming back to life Peter has been a bit of an enigma to Stiles, sometimes he seems to not care about anything but himself, and sometimes he’ll risk his life saving the pack. One constant though is that he does seem to genuinely like and care about Stiles, which confused Stiles endlessly but seemed to be true nonetheless. One of the benefits of being actual friends with Peter was that he was always willing to help Stiles out and Stiles figured he really needed Peter’s help right about now.

“Would you care to explain that text, darling boy?” Peter said in place of a greeting as soon as he answered the phone. Stiles didn’t even bother to sass him for the nickname this time.

“Well, I think it was fairly self explanatory,” Stiles never could resist a little snark though, especially not in high stress situations. “Something is wrong with Derek, I’ve got him trapped in a mountain ash circle outside Jungle and I could use some assistance.”

“What exactly is wrong with my nephew?” Peter asked calmly. There was a certain quality to the audio that made Stiles think he was on speakerphone while Peter was driving.

“I’m not sure _exactly_ ,” Stiles said a little slowly, “just that he was hurting me and growling at me and...saying things that didn’t make sense. I was seriously scared of him Peter,” Stiles admitted quietly. He currently had his back to the Alpha werewolf, safe in the knowledge that his circle would hold (and even if it broke for some reason, Stiles would feel it).

“Stay where you are I’m almost there, angel. Have you heard back from the rest of the pack?”

“I don’t know, I called you straight away,” Stiles admitted. And it did feel like an admission. Peter just made a slight humming noise which honestly could mean anything. “Okay, well I’m gonna hang up and check then, but you’ll be here soon?”

“Yes darling boy, I’ll be with you shortly,” and the gentle reassurance in Peter’s voice helped soothe some of the panic still buzzing within Stiles. 

“Okay, I’ll see you then,” Stiles nodded before hanging up. It took a couple of seconds but his phone soon started vibrating with the messages he’d missed while talking to Peter.

There were four from Scott, getting more worried and insistent as Stiles obviously didn’t reply:

 **Scotty [22:23]:** _What do u mean smthng wrng w/ derek?_

 **Scotty [22:25]:** _Stiles?_

 **Scotty [22:26]:** _What the hell stiles?_

 **Scotty [22:28]:** _Stiles answr me! Im on my way_

He also had one from Erica:

 **Catwoman [22:27]:** _Me, Boyd and Puppy are on the way, Batman._

He couldn’t help but smile at Erica’s use of his nickname for Isaac, it was partly due to how much Isaac pretended he hated it, but also because it had was surprisingly accurate, especially lately. 

He wasn’t really surprised not to get a reply from Lydia or Jackson, they were pack and they would usually come if it was an actual emergency, but one text from Stiles wouldn’t be enough to bring them running. Stiles was sure Jackson probably hadn’t even bothered reading the text after seeing it was from him.

He shot a quick reply to Scott, telling him just to get there, a quick thanks to Erica and another text to Peter to let him know that Scott, Erica, Boyd and Isaac were all on their way. Then when he couldn’t really avoid it, he looked back at Derek. 

The expression on the Alpha’s face was murderous and he was glaring and pushing at the barrier even though he had to know it was useless. Stiles was confused, not knowing what was going on with Derek, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t exactly a sudden thing. He’d been noticing small things about Derek for a little while now, growling for seemingly no reason, his temper getting worse, nothing to this extent though. Stiles honestly had no idea what could be causing Derek’s bizarre and violent behaviour.

Before he could really continue analyzing it at length, another text alert came from his phone.

 **Miss Tammy [22:29]:** _U ok chiquito? Didn’t see u leave_

Stiles couldn’t help but smile down at his phone. He’d made pretty good friends with the drag queens at Jungle after that first bizarre trip and Miss Tammy Flowers was the undisputed mother hen of the group. He quickly fired back a reply letting her know that he was just talking to a friend in the parking lot, and that he was probably going to head home after. He didn’t really feel like dancing anymore after all.

It only took another couple of minutes for Peter to show up, parking his car in a spot near the Camaro. As soon as he was parked he was out of the car and striding over to where Stiles was pacing back and forth along the pavement. He wasn’t exactly surprised when Peter’s arms wrapped around him and decided just to lean into it rather than fight it. The comfort was nice actually and Stiles hadn’t realised he had been shaking until Peter was gently rubbing his hands up and down Stiles’ arms to help him calm down. He felt stupid for reacting like this, Derek had barely even hurt him. But it was _Derek_. Stiles thought he was done being attacked by his friends. Apparently not.

“Sorry,” Stiles finally muttered, pulling away from Peter’s embrace, “I’m being dumb. Let me just…” Stiles closed his eyes and centred himself before removing the soundproofing from the mountain ash circle. 

“Get your hands off him!” Was the first thing they heard being roared from an enraged looking Derek. Stiles stumbled back a step at the sudden noise, but Peter’s hands still on his arms kept him from falling back.

“Now, now nephew,” Peter drawled, seemingly at ease with an out of control werewolf flashing eyes and baring teeth at him, “what’s got you so worked up?”

“You’re touching what’s mine!” 

Peter looked a little taken aback by this answer, which was disconcerting to say the least. Peter rarely looked taken off guard this way. 

“He was saying that before,” Stiles whispered despite knowing Derek would hear him, “I don’t know why he keeps saying that. Something’s obviously wrong.”

Derek was still trying to break through the barrier, with a constant ferocious growl accompanying his attempts. The older wolf studies his nephew for a minute before seeming to come to some kind of realisation.

“I believe Derek’s anchor is no longer working as it should,” Peter finally mused. “Using anger was always a risky bet all things considered, and isn’t advisable, but my stubborn nephew seems to have forgotten all of his lessons from childhood.”

The growling from Derek seems to change, though Stiles can’t pinpoint the exact way in which it’s changing. It’s become less ferocious somehow, though no less menacing. It’s almost like Derek is acknowledging Peter’s point, while also showing he disagrees and doesn’t appreciate the sentiment.

“The weaker his anchor has become, the less control he has. My dear nephew is becoming feral,” Peter’s grin is sharp and Derek’s growling kicks up a notch, he doesn’t appear to notice that this is merely proving Peter’s point. 

“That doesn’t explain the whole...ya know ‘you are mine’ thing.” 

Peter seems to pause at that, looking almost...guilty? That doesn’t seem quite right, Stiles has never seen Peter look guilty about anything. Peter’s definitely hesitating though, whatever it is he obviously doesn’t want to tell Stiles.

“Darling boy, I’ve always told you how special you are, have I not?” Peter finally says with his usual smirk, “It wasn’t hyperbole, you are special Stiles. And all those things that make you special, also happen to make you the perfect candidate for an Alpha’s Mate.”

Peter just stops there, like that’s any kind of fucking explanation _at all_. Seriously, what even?

“What.” Stiles finally manages, feeling a little like Derek, with the lack of punctuation in his question and all, “No, seriously, what.”

“Derek’s latched on to you because without an anchor his instincts are pushing him to create one, and a mate is the perfect anchor,” Peter explains with an eyeroll, “Which I know you’re already aware of.”

“Wait, wait wait,” Stiles makes swiping motions through the airs with his hands, “You’re telling me that because I have some mysterious attributes that would make a good mate for an Alpha, that Derek is like fixated on making me his mate so that he’ll have an anchor and get his control back and stop going feral?”

“Basically, yes,” Peter shrugs. He actually shrugs! Like Stiles’ whole world view isn’t imploding right this very moment. 

Stiles tries to take a minute to think about this logically. So, Derek is becoming more and more feral the more his grip on his anchor fades, becoming more feral means giving in to his lupine instincts, the same lupine instincts that think Stiles would make a good mate. Obviously feral Derek doesn’t have any concerns about things like consent and already consider Stiles as his...property or whatever. Which sort of explains his behaviour tonight. It might also explain why it seems like Derek has devolved before Stiles’ very eyes, getting worse as they argued, clearly feral Derek wasn’t going to take rejection well. 

Trying to think back to all of the research Stiles had done on werewolves over the last two years was a little tricky with Derek’s growling as constant background noise, but he tried to focus past it. What had he read about anchors and about werewolves going feral? 

“From what I remember there would only be two ways to help a werewolf who’s gone feral,” Stiles is more or less thinking out loud as he reaches conclusions, “One is obviously for the ‘wolf to mate thus gaining an instant and solid anchor. I don’t think that’s really an option in this case, I mean Derek doesn’t have any romantic interests at the moment and forcing something like that on him would do more harm than good after everything.”

Peter hums in agreement but his eyes are laser focused on Stiles. There’s a light in his bright blue but very human eyes, one that’s often there when he watches Stiles like this. It’s unnerving in some ways, but it also feels strangely nice. Peter _appreciates_ him, Peter is possibly the only one who truly sees Stiles.

“The other option is more difficult and has a greater chance of not working,” Stiles frowns, “but it might be Derek’s only option. And obviously we’ll need…” Stiles trails off, his eyes focusing on Peter from where they’d been unfocused as he was lost in thought. A thought has occurred to him, a troubling thought.

“You knew this would happen,” he realises, “That’s why you never tried harder to get Derek to change his anchor, it’s probably why you’ve stuck around as long as you have, this was your plan all along.”

“What do you mean Stiles?” Peter asks, but he’s not really asking, he just wants Stiles to say it out loud. Peter’s amused. And...proud. God damn him.

“The only way to stop Derek from going completely feral and losing himself is to remove the alpha spark, make him a beta again so he can handle the power of his lupine instincts enough to find and harness his own anchor. But obviously that spark has to go somewhere, the law of conservation of energy and all that. You never really gave up on being the alpha, I mean I knew that on some level, knew you’d never just give up, but you’ve been planning this, probably the whole time,” Stiles shakes his head, not sure what to make of any of this.

Peter steps closer to him, they’re practically breathing the same air, and his voice lowers and is serious in a way that Peter rarely sounds. 

“Derek was never supposed to be an alpha, Stiles. He wasn’t given the right training for it, it was an oversight on my sister’s part, her own hubris, believing that there would never be a situation where Derek would become alpha so he didn’t need to learn. He doesn’t know how to lead a pack, look at all the mistakes he’s made since he gained that power. You’re right that I knew this would happen, but I gave Derek every chance to prove me wrong. If Derek was the alpha he should have been, this never would have happened after all,” here Peter indicated where Derek was pacing the mountain ash barrier and snarling. Derek was pretty much the picture of a feral wolf at this point, “Stiles, think of it this way: I could have gone and killed an alpha for the power any time, but I didn’t. This is a way for everyone to get what they want, and no one has to get hurt in the process.”

Stiles kind of hates Peter right now. There’s logic in what he’s saying, is the thing. Derek had admitted to Stiles before that he was never meant to be an alpha, that he didn’t know what he was doing most of the time. And Peter was right in pointing out that compared to Peter’s other plans this one did involve a lot less pain and suffering and death. But there was one other thing…

“You’d need someone who could manipulate magic and energies to perform the ritual,” Stiles pointed out, although both of them knew this, “That’s why you’ve been all nice to me and stuff. You were manipulating me so that when the time came I’d be more likely to trust and help you.”

It occurred to Stiles that the thought hurt more than it probably should. Most of the time he wasn’t sure what to make of Peter’s obvious favouritism when it came to him, but he had to admit, if even only to himself that he liked it. Peter’s attention and affection was a boon to his fairly low self-esteem, and he bet Peter was thrilled that the rest of the pack underappreciated Stiles because it only worked in Peter’s favour. God, Stiles had been such an idiot this entire time.

“No,” Peter said, rather harshly, “Not even for a second did I consider manipulating you Stiles. You’re far too intelligent for that. I value you too highly for that. No, at first I was going to call in the aid of a sorcerer friend of mine when the time came, but then… Well, I thought that if I could be deserving of your trust, if you would grant me the honour of being your alpha, then I would know I was also deserving of the title.”

Fuck. There was an intense kind of raw honesty in Peter’s voice, and in his eyes, it was making it a little hard for Stiles to breathe actually. 

“You’d risk your whole plan on the notion that I trusted you enough?” Stiles asked, more than a little breathlessly. And wow, Peter was very close.

“Yes angel, because if you wouldn’t have me as your alpha, then what’s the point in being one?” The wry twist of Peter’s lips had never looked quite so sexy before, Stiles couldn’t help but think. 

“And if I said no? What would you do then?” 

“Well, I’d suggest you take the alpha power for yourself, but I have no idea what it would do to you,” Peter said thoughtfully, as though considering it for the first time, but Stiles was pretty sure that was an act, “And really the only member of Derek’s ragtag pack that I’d even remotely consider having alpha potential is Boyd, and even then it’s not a sure thing. But either way, I’d respect your decision.”

Stiles felt his shoulders slumping. This was too much. It was just…

“God this is such a mess,” he huffed, “You know if I did this Derek might never forgive me? And there’s a very good chance the others wouldn’t follow you as their alpha, I mean you haven’t really been winning them over,” Stiles said pointedly, to which Peter merely shrugged. “Scott and Allison for sure would never trust you enough to be their alpha, Lydia sort of hates you still from that time you almost killed her and then used her to come back from the dead. The others could possibly be persuaded, but with the pack fractured….there’s no telling what will happen.”

Somewhere in his little rant Stiles had started pacing again, a thousand thoughts flying through his brain, trying to run through every scenario of how things might go. He could fairly work out the most likely series of events, but there were some variables he couldn’t calculate, mostly Peter himself. He was working on the assumption that Peter would stick around to try and lead the pack that Derek had cobbled together, but he might decide to leave, create a more stable pack of his own. 

“I think you can tell exactly what will happen can’t you Stiles?” Peter prods with a smile, not even a smirk, and actual, proper smile. Stiles huffs, but concedes the point.

“If you stay in Beacon Hills, Derek will probably run off to South America to be with his sister, Scott will become an omega, but with Allison as his mate he’ll maintain his grip over his humanity. Lydia is pragmatic enough that she won’t exactly sever ties with the pack, but after she leaves for college she probably won’t come back anyway. Jackson follows her like a puppy, so wherever she is he’ll follow. The others are so desperate for a family, to belong, that they’ll stick with you as long as you provide that for them.” Stiles sums up, and the picture it paints is...not the best. It could however, be a lot worse. 

WIth Derek in charge the pack has been running itself into the ground anyway. The constant conflicts between Derek and Scott creating rifts within the pack, separating them into two camps depending on which side of each argument people fell. Under Derek’s harsh rule the pack is miserable and fractured more often than not, not a clean break but a crumbling mess.

“And what about you Stiles? Where are you in this scenario?” Peter questions quietly. 

It startles Stiles a little bit, because without really meaning to he’d been placing himself with Peter, helping Peter lead the pack. But, shouldn’t he be with Scott? His best friend and brother, Scott? After all, Stiles was only really in the pack because of Scott, without Scott did he have a reason to stay?

But honestly, Stiles already knew the answer to that. Because Erica and Boyd and Isaac weren’t the only ones who craved family and belonging. And something Peter had said resurfaces…

“I’d be with you wouldn’t I?” Stiles half-questions, “You said I’d make the perfect Alpha’s Mate, right? So that’s where I’d be. With you, leading the pack.”

Stiles almost doesn’t realise what’s come out of his mouth until Peter’s in his space again, even closer than before.

“Is that what you want Stiles?” There’s something in Peter’s eyes that Stiles can’t quite decipher, something he’s never seen before, “You’d have to be certain, it’s not a job you can take lightly, nor is it a position easily left once taken up.”

It’s hope, Stiles realises with a start. Peter’s eyes are full of hope. And a joyful kind of longing that makes Stiles feel like he’s about ten feet tall. 

“You realise this is all happening insanely fast and coming pretty much out of nowhere right?” Stiles means to sound flippant and sarcastic, but it comes out closer to breathless and desperate.

“You don’t need to decide right this second Stiles,” Peter smiles. That real smile that makes him look younger and more real somehow, “I’d probably be a little worried if you did. I know you’ll need time to run through every scenario and do research and make lists. But I also know that when you do decide you’ll have everything planned out and know exactly what you want and how to achieve it, you never do anything halfway.”

And damn it but Peter actually sounds _fond_. Which Stiles is slowly getting used to really, but it still strikes Stiles dumb every time. 

“Right now I do believe the rest of the pack is starting to arrive,” Peter says with that tilt to his head that means he’s hearing something outside the range of human ears and that Stiles always points out makes them look like adorable puppies rather than scary wolves.

Peter’s right, and within a few minutes Erica, Isaac, Boyd and Scott have all arrived. Stiles only gives them the bare outline of what’s happening. Letting them know that Derek’s anchor is failing him and that he’s been slowly going feral until tonight when he apparently snapped. He says he’ll need a tranq dart to put Derek out so they can get him back to the loft and secure him until Stiles has done some research on how to fix him. At this he gives Peter a pointed look, letting him know not to say anything, not that he thinks Peter would. But he needs time to think before he tells the pack anything. 

They all seem concerned to varying levels, and Erica and Boyd volunteer to go and pick up the tranq gun Stiles has in his room. Stiles takes a minute to be grateful for the well stocked arsenal he’s been forced to cultivate over the years of dealing with every creature-feature that’s come to town. 

Scott and Isaac both seem very perturbed by Derek’s growling and snarling, so Stiles tells them to go get his Jeep, which he parked way on the other side of the parking lot, they’ll need it to get Derek to the loft after all. They both look grateful for the task and Stiles feels better with a plan in place, more in control of the situation. Even the illusion of control is helpful at this point. 

While Isaac and Scott are getting the car, Stiles makes the mountain ash barrier soundproof again. Honestly Stiles could probably use the mountain ash to knock Derek unconscious, but he has no idea what kind of damage that might do to Derek, it’s not something he’s practiced before and he’s unwilling to risk it.

Even after having to wait for Erica and Boyd to get the tranquiliser, it’s still less than forty-five minutes before they’ve got Derek secured back at the loft and everyone else has gone home for the night. There’s nothing they can do at the loft to help, so Stiles sent them home to get some sleep, promising to call if he needed anything. And besides, Peter was staying with him. Only Scott put up any resistance, right up until Stiles pointed out how grounded he’d be if he wasn’t there to pick Melissa up from her shift, and wasn’t he still on probation after the last time he stayed out all night without letting her know?

Once it was just Stiles and Peter in the loft (not counting the dead-to-the-world Derek who was slumped on his bed and surrounded by another ring of mountain ash) Stiles got to work. Peter was right that he’d need to plan and plot and think about this logically, approaching it from every angle. Stiles wouldn’t do anything until he knew every way it could go wrong. Granted, a lot of the time knowing how something was going to go wrong wasn’t enough to actually stop him, but at least he was aware of the consequences before they happened. 

So Stiles dived into the laptop pre-loaded with both the Argent and Hale bestiaries as well as Stiles’ own research. He also pulled out every book he might need that was in Derek’s loft, he kept enough books in both Derek’s loft and his own room that he could do research in either place and have enough material to work with, though he wished he could keep everything in one place honestly. 

He was busy enough reading and scrawling in notebooks that he didn’t really pay much attention to what Peter was doing, though he was always aware in his periphery that Peter was still there and busy reading. Or at least pretending to read. 

At some point Peter disappeared upstairs, probably to get some sleep, but Stiles wasn’t really conscious of the passing of time. Not until he looked up from his nest of paper and books to see the light streaming in through the grimy, cracked windows and Peter smiling down at him, holding two mugs of coffee. 

Stiles was a little surprised that he’d managed to spend the entire night researching and planning, but not overly, it wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last. He gratefully accepted the black coffee Peter handed him, knowing that the overly milky, overly sweetened one was for Peter himself. 

“So darling, I assume your night was fruitful,” Peter said mildly before taking a sip. Meanwhile Stiles took a massive gulp of coffee and sighed in satisfaction.

“It was indeed,” Stiles smiled. Having all the facts made Stiles feel so much more comfortable about the whole situation. While last night he’d felt overwhelmed and caught of guard, now he felt prepared and more secure. Knowledge was power, Stiles firmly believed that. Though he was sure that Peter would argue that ‘power was power’, whatever.

“I’m fairly confident I’ve found a way for everyone to get what they want and be happy,” Stiles smiles, inhaling the coffee scented air from his mug, “I mean, Derek will still be pissed at first and it’ll probably take some time for Scott to really come around, but in the long-term this will be best for everyone.”

“Care to share your brilliant plan?” Peter smirks.

“I’ll transfer the alpha power from Derek to you,” Stiles begins, “but with conditions, a failsafe if you will, to keep you in line and give everyone else some sort of assurances. Then we’ll revise the old treaty that the Hale pack had with the Argents, using the fact that Scott and Allison are mates as the basis for it, like a marriage treaty between royal families. You’ll find a decent house for the pack, I’m not saying you have to rebuild the Hale house if you don’t want to, but it needs to be a large house with room to expand and at least bordering if not actually in the preserve itself.”

Peter seems to be mulling it over for a minute, seeming to be aware that Stiles is painting the broad strokes. 

“I do have some queries, little one,” Peter finally says after a few minutes. Enough time for Stiles to have nearly finished his coffee, “For instance what would these conditions be and how would you plan to make sure I keep to them? And where would Derek be in this little scenario? And what of you?”

“Well the biggest condition would be no killing anyone other than in self-defense, also no hurting the pack under the same proviso. And you wouldn’t have a choice really, because the conditions would be woven into your connection to the alpha spark, so if you broke them the power would transfer to your second, who would be Boyd.” Stiles grinned at Peter as he said this, knowing Peter wouldn’t be thrilled about being put on a leash, but he also knows that the pack would feel better with the assurance, especially Lydia and Scott. “As for Derek, well he’ll probably choose to go to South America, and he’ll definitely be pissed that he couldn’t consent to the whole thing, but there really is no way around that, I checked. But Derek doesn’t like being the Alpha, he just feels responsible for everyone, he’ll be better off in the long run.”

Peter seems to concur as he gives an agreeable hum. After a few more moments of contemplative silence Peter lifts his eyebrow as if to prompt Stiles to continue. 

“Right yeah,” Stiles nods, “I’ll be acting as the pack’s Emissary. Deaton sort of retired after Laura and Derek skipped town and hasn’t really picked up the mantle since the pack reformed, which is...urgh, don’t even get me started.” Stiles shakes his head a little in disgust. He’s grateful to Deaton for letting him know about his magical potential, but Deaton only shares information when he feels like it and he obviously doesn’t want to get involved, to the point of letting the pack suffer. So obviously the pack needs a real Emissary, a full-time Emissary. “Aside from that, well if it’s something you want to pursue, you can court me properly can’t you?” Stiles smirks as he finishes off his coffee. This prompts Peter to break out into an honest-to-goodness grin, with a few too many teeth, but still.

“You’re positively brilliant, darling boy. I never expected anything less,” Peter chuckles.

“Well then Alpha, ready to get your power back?”

“You have no idea,” Peter flashes his bright blue eyes, and Stiles has to admit, he’s maybe going to miss them, just the tiniest bit.

But he’s ready for the adventure that’s about to unfold before them. Everything’s about to change, and Stiles is thrumming with the possibilities. He can’t help but think _'This is how it was supposed to be.'_

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the Oscar Wilde quote: “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” I might change it at some point, but probably not. I really struggled with the title of this one.
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you think? Even if you hate it?


End file.
